Coach Nishigaya wants Singapore team to ‘make community happy again’
Training at the Kallang Football Hub in the backdrop of a golden-hued sky, the Lions were being put through their paces on an 11-a-side pitch on Monday evening.
All around them were hoardings, equipment and a temporary roof as construction continued at the new training facility.
Like the hub, Takayuki Nishigaya’s team are also very much a work in progress, but the chief architect –who started in April 2022 and has over 10 months left on his current deal – is convinced that his players are responding to his methods, which include playing “aggressive and progressive football”.
Singapore’s 158th-ranked national football team will get a chance to display their progress in two friendly matches at the National Stadium against Papua New Guinea (159th) on Thursday, before entertaining Solomon Islands (134th) three days later.
In an interview with The Straits Times at the Football Association of Singapore’s (FAS) headquarters in Jalan Besar, the 50-year-old Japanese said through a translator: “It’s not at a stage where it is perfect but everyone is getting the picture.
“Our principle is to grab the ball then grab the goal. There are a few ways to do that whether it’s by counter attack or with a high press. We are not there yet but we are getting there.”
There were two matches where they showed glimpses of his vision, as he singled out the defensive organisation the Lions showed in the 0-0 draw with Vietnam last December during the 2022 Asean Football Federation (AFF) Championship, and the 3-1 win over Maldives in an international friendly the same month which proved they can excel in creating attacking chances.
But as time runs on his contract, is Nishigaya certain that he will get time to see through his ideas for the squad?
“My future is my second worry. My first concern is to do well in October, said Nishigaya, referring to the 2026 Fifa World Cup first-round qualifiers on Oct 12 and 17. The draw for the first round will be held in July.
He will be looking to set aside the disappointment of the AFF campaign, where Singapore were beaten 4-1 by Causeway rivals Malaysia. The chastening defeat led to the Lions exiting the group stage of the tournament for the fourth time in the past five editions.
A tournament review was conducted with Nishigaya, his backroom team and the FAS Council after the event.
Nishigaya said recommendations from the review have since been implemented, including fine tuning their engagement process with head coaches of the Singapore Premier League (SPL) clubs to address specific areas relevant to each player, and to collaborate with them to adequately raise the level of intensity in the league.
He is also blooding more new players in the national set-up, calling up 50 players since his appointment – 13 of them for the first time – and has notched five wins, three draws and five defeats in 13 matches. In his latest call-up, five new faces were included.
Having high levels of professionalism is an area Nishigaya has been stressing to the Lions as they play for country and club.
He said: “We need to raise awareness on the need to be more competitive and have professional habits that can help them get to the top of their game. I have been talking to them about raising their levels and bringing that spirit of competition back to their clubs and that will help spread it to the rest of the league.”
Tampines Rovers’ Glenn Kweh is one of the players who has been going the extra mile by planning two to three gym sessions a week with national team fitness coach Jens Eiberger.
The National University of Singapore undergraduate said : “In order to improve yourself more than others, it’s important to put in the extra work outside of training, whether it is gym work, taking care of your diet, or just taking proper care of your own body.
“The coach has given us this message and I am sure all of us here are working hard to be a better footballer than we were yesterday.”
As Nishigaya continues his work with the Lions, he is aware that work also needs to be done to help the local fraternity recover from low morale, a result of the national Under-22 team’s dismal SEA Games campaign, which included a 7-0 loss to Malaysia.
The Japanese coach wants his players to help lift the mood, saying: “I understand it has been tough for the football community here. But it does not last forever. We want to work hard to make the community happy again. We will get through this.”
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